External merchandise trade statistics for the first quarter of 2025

MACAU, April 28 - Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that external merchandise trade totalled MOP33.82 billion in the first quarter of 2025, down by 4.5% compared to the same period last year (MOP35.42 billion). Total value of merchandise exports grew by 6.1% year-on-year to MOP 3.49 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP3.15 billion) and domestic exports (MOP345 million) increased by 6.4% and 3.5% respectively. Total value of merchandise imports dropped by 5.6% year-on-year to MOP30.33 billion. Merchandise trade deficit totalled MOP26.83 billion in the first quarter of 2025, down by MOP2.00 billion from the same quarter last year (MOP28.83 billion).

Analysed by destination, merchandise exports to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong SAR) (MOP2.69 billion) and the USA (MOP50 million) went up by 14.0% and 7.0% respectively year-on-year in the first quarter, whereas exports to mainland China (MOP173 million), the Belt and Road Countries (MOP66 million) and the European Union (MOP56 million) slid by 5.8%, 60.4% and 10.5% respectively. Analysed by commodity, exports of Textiles & garments grew by 4.3% year-on-year to MOP357 million, and exports of Non-textiles expanded by 6.3% to MOP3.14 billion.

By place of origin, merchandise imports from the European Union (MOP9.45 billion), mainland China (MOP8.81 billion) and the Belt and Road Countries (MOP7.10 billion) decreased by 6.4%, 2.4% and 1.4% respectively year-on-year in the first quarter, while those from Japan (MOP2.16 billion) increased by 3.9%. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise imports from mainland China (MOP4.60 billion) and the Hong Kong SAR (MOP24.12 billion) fell by 5.5% and 6.1% respectively year-on-year. In terms of commodity, imports of Consumer goods went down by 5.5% to MOP22.58 billion, of which imports of Garments & footwear (MOP3.17 billion) and Gold jewellery (MOP2.88 billion) shrank by 8.1% and 8.9% respectively, while imports of Food & beverages (MOP5.70 billion) rose by 10.9%. Imports of Fuels & lubricants (MOP1.60 billion), Mobile phones (MOP553 million) and Construction materials (MOP337 million) declined by 4.2%, 39.2% and 42.6% respectively.

In March 2025, total merchandise exports decreased by 7.5% year-on-year to MOP1.11 billion. Value of re-exports dropped by 9.8% to MOP990 million, of which re-exports of Machines, apparatus & parts and Travel goods & handbags slid by 67.0% and 27.3% respectively, while those of Articles for casino and Jewellery increased by 64.4% and 18.1% respectively. Value of domestic exports expanded by 16.0% to MOP124 million, of which domestic exports of Copper & articles thereof rose by 8.3%, while those of Pharmaceutical products & organic chemicals fell by 5.2%. Meanwhile, total merchandise imports decreased by 6.2% year-on-year to MOP10.50 billion; imports of Mobile phones, Construction materials and Watches reduced by 44.1%, 34.8% and 23.5% respectively, whereas imports of Motor cars and Food & beverages showed respective growth of 23.4% and 16.3%. Merchandise trade deficit totalled MOP9.39 billion in March.